CIEN WIELKIEJ GÓRY

Budka Suflera meant to become one of the leading Rock/Soft Rock acts in Poland, but their roots were definitely progressive.The band from Lublin was formed around singer Krzysztof Cugowski and bassist Romuald Lipko in early-70's with Andrzej Ziolkowski and drummer Ryszard Siwiec completing the first line-up.After several gigs and drummer changes Zbigniew Zielinski sits behind the drum kit and Budka Suflera eventually meet success in 1974, covering Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" in Polish.This was the last recording of Zielinski with the band, as he was replaced by Tomasz Zeliszewski.Having earned a contract with Polskie Nagrania Muza they headed to their debut album, inviting Czesław Niemen and Marek Stefankiewicz to help out on keyboards, while the female vocal ensemble Alibabki participated in the female choirs,Their debut ''Cien wielkiej gory'' was finally released in 1975.

First side shows the band practicing their moves between different styles with comfort and the only common thing in all four tracks are the expressive Polish vocals.The eponymous kick off is a grandiose Space Rock piece with Niemen's moog synths in evidence and a deep lyrical content, resembling to Hungarians EAST, while the follower ''Lubic ten stary obraz'' shifts easy between acoustic mannerisms, orchestral plays with strings and complex Heavy/Blues Rock with impressive guitar breaks.''Samotny noca'' is more of a conventional Hard Rocker with a typical song structure, characterized by the edgy lead guitars and the aggresive voice of Cugowski, but with ''Jest taki samotny dom'' Budka Suflera return to a grandiose Space/Symphonic Rock with pompous keyboards and excellent guitar solos in the vein of ELOY, EAST and compatriots PROGRES 2.The flipside is captured by Budka Suflera's ambitious attempt on putting up a long epic, the 19-min. ''Szalony kon''.While not fully convincing, this a pretty good example of 70's Polish Prog with a balanced sound but a rather questionable connection between the styles.It represents nicely the band's talent, which was based on deep lyricism, complicated instrumental lines and early psychedelic influences, offering extended guitar parts, furious synth workouts by Niemen and poetic passages with Cugowski's voice leading the way.It draws influences from Heavy Rock, Classical Music and Psychedelic Rock in almost equal doses, switching between angular guitar-led runs and laid-back textures with a low tempo.

I could say that this album is fully representative of 70's Polish Prog.Stuffed with psychedelic vibes, based on expressive vocal work but also filled with intricate instrumental themes.Not the best from the country, but definitely good enough one to seek for.Recommended.

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